Catholic Relief Services staff continue
to work with Caritas Mexico in response to severe flooding and landslides
in the southeastern regions of Mexico. The flooding and landslides are
mainly due to a tropical depression that hit the Mexican states of Puebla,
Tabasco, Veracruz and Hidalgo. Torrential rains have created the worst
flooding in over forty years and at least four major rivers continue to
overflow.

The European Commission has approved humanitarian
aid worth Euro 1 million for victims of flooding in Mexico. The aid will
be channelled through the German and Spanish Red Cross societies, which
are working in close coordination with the Mexican Red Cross.

Background on the Situation
For the last several weeks, heavy rains
have caused severe flooding and landslides in the southeastern regions
of Mexico. The flooding and landslides are mainly due to a tropical depression
that hit the Mexican states of Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Hidalgo. Torrential
rains have created the worst flooding in over forty years and at least
4 major rivers continue to overflow.

On Monday, November 1st, Direct Relief
International sent its fifth shipment of medical aid for victims of the
worst flooding in the history of Mexico. The rains in the southern Mexican
states of Oaxaca, Mexico Hidalgo and Puebla have killed over 400 people
and have left hundreds of thousands homeless. The shipment included antibiotics,
analgesics, surgical supplies and other emergency medical goods.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The southeast
of Mexico is drenched by devastating rains, but the north has not seen
a drop in months; temperatures plummet near Mexico City, while the northwest
is baking hot.

Freak weather conditions in Mexico are
not symptoms of global warming but probably the result of the tail end
of La Niña, the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific
Ocean, according to a meteorologist.

''The La Niña situation that we were
in last year and are in again this year probably produces a little more
in the way of severe …

He visited the municipalities of San Pedro
Tututepec, Puerto Escondido and Huajuapan de León.

A total of 400 million pesos will be
allocated for housing rehabilitation and reconstruction programs in Oaxaca.

President Zedillo flew over the Puerto
Escondido-San Miguel Sola de Vega highway to verify reconstruction progress.

President Ernesto Zedillo visited the
municipalities of San Pedro Tututepec, Puerto Escondido and Huajuapan de
León, Oaxaca, in order to verify the progress of emergency housing programs
and the reconstruction of highways, bridges and rural roads.

MEXICO -- CWS continues to assist
those recovering from floods and mudslides in Mexico through six local
partners. We have provided 4,000 Clean-up Kits, 2,000 Health Kits, and
$47,000 for blankets and bedding. CWS is seeking $100,000 to assist with
relief and recovery efforts, including the provision of additional blankets,
food, plastic sheeting, and other emergency supplies.

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (Reuters) -
Flood waters were slowly rising in the Mexican state of Tabasco Sunday
after weeks of torrential rain forced officials to open the gates of a
dam that was filled to capacity.

The Gulf of Mexico state, streaked with
some of the country's most important rivers, has been hard hit by flooding
from heavy rains earlier this month that killed some 400 people and drove
some 300,000 others from their homes across central and southern Mexico.

In the Tabasco capital Villahermosa,
a city of some 460,000, 425 miles southeast of Mexico …